HOME AUTOMATION

HOME AUTOMATION

Home automation is the domestic application of building automation. Imagine a situation were all the devices in your house could connect to the Internet? Not just computers and smartphones, but everything: clocks, garage doors, speakers, lights, doors, windows, window blinds, door bells, water heaters, appliances, every thing. what if these devices could all communicate, send you information, and take your commands? No magic; it's the Internet of Things (IoT), and it's a key component of home automation. 

 

Home automation is the use and control of home appliances remotely or automatically. Early home automation began with labour-saving machines like washing machines. Some home automation appliances are stand alone and do not communicate, such as a programmable light switch, while others are part of the internet of things and are networked for remote control and data transfer. Hardware devices can include sensors (like cameras and thermometers), controllers, actuators (to do things), and communication systems. Remote control can range from a simple remote control to a smartphone with Bluetooth, to a computer on the other side of the world connected by internet. Home automation systems are available which consist of a suite of products designed to work together. These typically connected through Wi-Fi or power line communication to a hub which is then accessed with a software application

Home automation is nothing more than the ability to control items around the house with a simple push of a button (or a voice command). homes are becoming smarter by the day, we practically on daily bases out phase older technologies with new ones thus bringing together devices that can perform these task. Eventually there is no need to be bothered with the word Automation because it is not actually as difficult as it sounds. there are already a bunch of these devices out there and even within our homes today that can simply be integrated to do cool stuffs at home. Eventually, there is no need tearing down already existing electrical connections for instance in order to outfit them with those that could be automated as there are devices that can be used to bring already existing ones together.

Popular suites of products include X10, Z-Wave, Zigbee and a whole lot more all of which are incompatible with each other. Home automation is the domestic application of building automation.

Home-Automation Technologies

Before you buy a bunch of home-automation products, it helps to understand the technologies involved in setting up and using them. These products use many different communication protocols. Some are wired, some wireless, and some are a combination. Try to stick with one protocol when buying products, or get a hub/gateway that supports multiple protocols.
X10
This granddaddy of home automation protocols dates back to the 1970s and has gone from power line-based to wireless.  X10 is not known for robust speed or great communication between units on the home automation network. It is, however, typically inexpensive. 
 

ZigBeeZigBee is a wireless 802 standard from the IEEE, which is to say, a bunch of gearheads came up with it before an outside group (the Zigbee Alliance) made up of vendors created products that use it. One of the key elements in IEEE 802.15.4 (its real name) is that it makes a mesh network so that most of the devices communicate equally. It's also very low power. (You may also hear about Thread, a new wireless protocol that uses the same radio chips and frequency at ZigBee, and connects up to 250 devices in a home to the cloud.)

Z-Wave
Another wireless home automation protocol,  Z-Wave is owned by one company, Sigma Designs, which makes all the chips for other vendors to make Z-Wave-capable products, known as the Z-Wave Alliance. 


Insteon
This may be the best of all protocols because it combines a wired power line-based protocol with wireless. Both work as a mesh; all nodes on an Insteon home automation network are peers that can communicate when in proximity. If one fails, the other mesh can take over. You can buy Insteon devices at Smarthome.com, which is run by SmartLabs, the developers of Insteon. It's compatible with X10.
 

Wi-Fi
This is the networking protocol we're all used to for sharing an Internet connection among laptops, game consoles, and so much more. It's super-fast and ubiquitous. So, of course, it's inevitable that some vendors would make home automation products to take advantage of it. The other protocols use less power and bandwidth but Wi-Fi's reach can't be understated, even if it is overkill to use it to turn a lamp on and off.



Bluetooth
A staple of every PC, smartphone, and tablet, Bluetooth is better known for connecting items at a short range like keyboards, mice, headphones, and earbuds. But a lot of new products use the Bluetooth 4.0, aka Bluetooth Low Energy, aka Bluetooth Smart. It doesn't require purposeful re-connection all the time, making it a good solution for select IoT items.

Applications

• Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC): it is possible to have remote control of all home energy monitors over the internet incorporating a simple and friendly user interface.
• Lighting control system
• Audio-visual
• Appliance control
• Security: a household security system integrated with a home automation system can provide additional services such as remote surveillance of security cameras over the Internet, or central locking of all perimeter doors and windows.
• Leak detection, smoke and CO detectors
• Indoor positioning systems
• Home automation for the elderly and disabled

• Integration with the smart grid, taking advantage, for instance, of high solar panel output in the middle of the day to run washing machines.

THE NEW TREND IN CAR DEVELOPMENT

THE NEW TREND IN CAR DEVELOPMENT 

Every car maker today seeks the best and most advance way of making mobility more luxurious, fast and reliable, not necessarily affordable though. Making materials out of ultra-light weight stronger than still materials that fits the sleekly well streamlined body of today's cars. With one step leading to another and the industrialization revolution, thing are becoming more autonomous than ever before. Aside the autonomous races, many car manufacturers are beginning to highlight the importance of more developed engines, efficient in burning of gas. Every one at a point has ventured into Hybrid engines, utilizing both combustion and electric engines to run the wheels which have in turn changed the way we look at the automobile industries. 

What’s driving change

From the ground level, three powerful forces are roiling the auto industry: shifts in consumer demand, expanded regulatory requirements for safety and fuel economy, and the increased availability of data and information.

Shifts in consumer demand. Consumers appear to be rethinking their long love affair with individual automobile brands and viewing cars more as transportation machines. Although this is not likely to have a major impact on sales volume, it is affecting how much people are willing to pay for automobiles. That willingness is also affected by the waning of product differentiation, due partly to a general increase in vehicle quality throughout the industry. The Detroit Three have caught up with Japanese OEMs, and the mass market is catching up with luxury. Consumers are also demanding more sophisticated infotainment systems at a low price, and are expecting more high-end features to be standard.

Major transitions are under way that will transform auto manufacturing over the next 10 years.

Expanded regulatory requirements. Tighter corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) regulations in the United States as well as the rest of the world are more expensive for OEMs to comply with, requiring higher volume to amortize increasing costs. Regulators are also mandating that more safety-related features, such as backup cameras, be included as standard equipment on new models, adding further to costs.
 
Increasing availability of data and information. Information about vehicle usage and driver behavior usage is proliferating as sensors and telematics systems become more common. All players across the automotive value chain are interested in collecting more customer and car data, but uncertainty about how to use it is still widespread. Meanwhile, consumers are awash in easily accessible information about automobile specifications, prices, discounts, quality, and performance, giving buyers greater bargaining power.
(As published on http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/perspectives/2015-auto-trends)